Yesterday's Lunch

....was great. Super duper great. I think everyone had a great time, the food was good (or so they said), and the company was fabulous. I am ashamed to say that AGAIN I forgot to take pictures. It is so hard when you are trying to get everything out and pretty....to remember to stop and take pictures. Hopefully I will do a good enough job of describing and you can picture it in your head! :)

On the menu was:

Marinated Cheese that Terri brought for Hors devours. Yummy! Oh, and lots and lots of wine. :)

For lunch we had Pan Sauteed Chicken with Avocado, Soy, Ginger and Lime served over a small bed of brown rice and Edamame on the side. For dessert was Lemon Curd Cheesecake.

The chicken recipe was similar to the one I posted a while ago, but last time I followed the recipe and used Seared Tuna Steaks. I was afraid people wouldn't be fond of Seared Tuna, so I subbed chicken. Because I did this, the cooking process was a little different. Here's how I did it. :)

Pan-Seared Chicken with Avocado, Soy, Ginger, and Lime
Serves 4

I bunch fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
2 jalapenos, sliced and seeded
4 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 limes, juiced
8 tablespoons soy sauce
Pinch sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 chicken breasts, pounded to ¼ inch and dredged in flour
4 ripe avocados, halved, peeled, pitted, and cubed

In a mixing bowl, combine the cilantro, jalapeno, ginger, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir the ingredients together until well incorporated.

Place a skillet over medium-high heat and coat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Lay the chicken in the hot oil and sear for about 5 minutes on each side to form a slight crust. Pour 1/2 of the cilantro mixture into the pan to coat the chicken. Cook about 5 minutes more, or until the chicken is done. Serve the chicken with the cubed avocado and a bit more cilantro sauce drizzled over the plate.

**serving suggestion**

Serve atop a bed of brown rice that has been lightly buttered and seasoned with salt and pepper. Serve with Edamame beans. To prepare Edamame, bring a pot of water to a rapid boil. Pour frozen, shelled Edamame beans and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until done. Drain and toss with soy sauce and kosher salt.

And now for the best part of the meal....the dessert! :) I got this recipe from Epicurious, but made so many changes to it that I am not even going to link it. Here's how I did it!

Lemon Curd Cheesecake

For lemon curd
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For crust
• 2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (5 oz)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick, less 1 T. unsalted butter, melted
For filling
• 3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Special equipment: a 9- to 91/2-inch (24-cm) springform pan

Make lemon curd:
Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 6 minutes.
Force lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a wide shallow dish, scraping bottom of sieve, then cover surface with Saran Wrap. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Make and bake crust:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide cake off bottom), then lock on side. Stir together crust ingredients in a bowl, and then press onto bottom and up side of springform pan. Place springform pan in a shallow baking pan and bake 10 minutes, then cool crust completely in springform pan on a rack.

Make filling and bake cheesecake:
Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
Beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until combined.
Pour two thirds of cream cheese filling into crust, then spoon half of lemon curd over filling and swirl curd into filling with a small knife. (Avoid touching crust with knife to prevent crumbs getting into filling.) Repeat with remaining filling and curd. Bake cheesecake about 45 minutes. Turn off oven and leave in another 15 minutes more. (Center of cake will appear very loose but will continue to set as it cools.) Transfer springform pan to a rack and immediately run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen. Cool completely, about 2 hours, then chill, uncovered, at least 4 hours. Remove side of springform pan before serving.

Notes:
•Lemon curd can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.
•Crust (without filling) can be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.
•Cheesecake can be chilled, loosely covered, up to 2 days. Cheesecake must be completely chilled before covering to prevent condensation on its surface.



This cake is VERY VERY yummy! Has a softer consistency than many Cheesecakes, namely a traditional New York Cheesecake, but is just perfect! Mike said it reminded him of Key Lime Pie, but to me it was MUCH better since it was 'Cheesecakey'...if that makes sense.

I posted the little jars I made for the teachers earlier in the week. I filled them with lemon curd and placed them in little gift bags that I made. I made sure and put a little tag in the bag that said

"Use lemon curd as a filling for tarts or meringues,
As a topping on ice cream or pound cake,
Or as a delicious spread between cake layers.
It also makes a refreshing change from jam on toast, English muffins or scones."

I was afraid people wouldn't know what to do with it! I also put my 'business card' in there. Yes, ha ha, I know...but I figured I want to get into catering so I would love it if someone needed me for a party! I got the cards made a while ago just for fun, so I figured, why not slip one in there. :)

All in all I think the teachers had a great time. There are 10 of them and there was lots of talking and laughing at the table. More importantly (for me), things got quiet when the food arrived, which is always a good sign for the cook! :) They loved looking around the house at all of my pictures of the kids and generally had a good time getting away from the school and enjoying the afternoon with their friends and colleagues.

So until the Christmas luncheon......I'm done! :)